The current trend in skate boot construction is to manufacture the boot from multiple components of thermoformed and injection molded plastic. The main structure of the boot is commonly thermoformed on a compression mold that shapes a flat sheet of plastic into a 3D structure, otherwise known as lasting. The main limitation of this method is that seams are created where the thermoformed material meets and therefore require a reinforcing element to bridge the seams. As commonly seen in the prior art the resulting seam through the center of the sole needs to be reinforced with a rigid midsole and outsole. This adds weight and the potential for premature breakdown and wear through the sole of the boot. An example of this in the prior art is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,398,609.
Some alternative skate boot construction can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,219,900 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,140,127 where the authors disclose a support structure (or boot body as also known in the art) composed of carbon fiber and the like, which has the liner, eyelet cuff, tendon guard, and external cuff (quarter package) bonded to the already fabricated support structure. With this process it is difficult to bond the liner into the already fabricated support structure cleanly and smoothly, creating inconsistency in the final product and higher reject rates. The eyelet cuff, or quarter package (as known in the art), is not substantially integrated into the support structure and is only bonded and/or stitched to the support structure, therefore when the laces are tightened the bonded eyelet cuff bends around the support structure and does not uniformly pull the skate boot body over the instep of the wearer's foot. Also, the tendon guard is only bonded to the top of the support structure creating the potential for accelerated wear as the wearer extends their ankle and forces the tendon guard to flex back, and then forth. The toe cap is either constructed as part of the support structure, which has the following limitations: increased cost and complexity to manufacture the support structure, and accelerated wear and damage due to the nature of use and the very rigid (brittle) composition of carbon fiber composites, or the toe cap is constructed from a more durable nylon material. The limitations of using a traditional nylon toe cap are the previous means of attaching it to the support structure. A traditional nylon toe cap does not integrate well with a composite support structure as it cannot be stitched and tacked to the support structure, as it would be with a more traditional, last skate boot. Lastly, with all current boot construction methods the tongue is permanently attached to the main boot body, and the main disadvantage of this is that the position of the tongue with respect to the skate boot body cannot be adjusted to the preference of the wearer.